French business leaders met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and later declared they can trust him to create the right conditions for investment.
It would take time to turn the promises of reform of the investment climate into reality, the president of the French business group MEDEF, Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, told reporters.
"Those things are very complicated to set up," Seilliere said.
"But the willingness of the Russian government seemed evident and I can trust Mr Putin to mean what he says and do what he says, and probably his leadership will help."
The MEDEF chief and about 30 other business leaders met Putin for about one hour to discuss the Russian economy and foreign investment.
Seilliere said he would lead a delegation of about 50 French corporate leaders to Moscow from November 8 to 10 to pursue the effort to engage with Russia.
Among French business leaders, there was "certainly a very strong willingness to start again, concentrating their efforts and interests on Russia," Seilliere said.
Signs from Russia in the past months showed the country was in a good state with significant growth, he said.
He also praised "all the efforts that the Russian government is now implementing in order to make it possible for the companies who want to invest ... in circumstances that more or less represent those that are found here and there throughout the industrial world.
"We think this is very encouraging."
Seilliere said there was "an evident change of climate" and that "there are prospects for development of trade and investment".
"With the arrival of President Putin and his firm desire to put stability back into the Russian system, French companies are now much more interested and have much more hope of being able to invest in the long term in far more stable conditions.
"The Russian economy is picking up and the medium-term prospects are clearer."
In a joint statement on Monday, Putin and French President Jacques Chirac had said they planned to boost cooperation in the natural gas, oil and power sectors and announced the establishment of dialogue to open the way to an "EU-Russia energy partnership."
Moscow newspapers agreed on Tuesday that the European Union, in response to growing oil prices that have put a damper on EU economic growth, now viewed Russia as a business partner rather than brutal military regime.
"The energy crisis has brought Russia and the European Union closer together," the Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote. "Vladimir Putin had an easy time finding a common language with the Europeans."
"If Russia now, most of all, needs a good reputation, then the EU most of all needs a stable supply of energy," the Vremya MN newspaper agreed -- PARIS (AFP)
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